This Too Shall Pass
by TheTVFanatic
Summary: Dawson, unknowingly, comes to Joey's rescue when her house is the site of a random robbery. This is the first installment of a series titled: Stolen Hearts


Untitled Document

** "This Too Shall Pass"**

This story takes place between episodes 216 and 217 in season 2. After Dawson's sixteenth birthday party.

"Dawson, you've got to snap out of this, man!" Pacey urged as he picked the last few pieces of popcorn off his chest and popped them in his mouth.  
Dawson just sighed and ignored his messy friend.   
The two boys lay on Dawson's bed, watching their second consecutive slasher flick of the evening.  
"I think I liked the first one better!" Pacey commented.   
"Me too." Dawson clicked the remote causing the room to go black. "Want something to eat?"  
"Sure!" Pacey jumped off the bed and lead the way downstairs to the kitchen.  
"Dawson, as much as I enjoy hanging out here with you..., watching you're dvd's and eating your food, something's got to give." Pacey admitted as he made himself comfortable at the kitchen table with the peanut butter and jelly.  
"I told you, you don't have to hang out here with me. It's not your responsibility to cheer me up." Dawson groaned.  
"Sure it is, you're my best friend, and you're in a funk." He said, wiping the peanut butter from his face with his arm. "It's my job to cheer you up, which, by the way, you aren't exactly helping me out much."  
"How, exactly, would you like me to help?" Dawson turned and walked out of the kitchen. Pacey quickly forced the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and followed.  
"I've completely alienated my friends, not to mention my parents, who happen to be doing a pretty good job of alienating each other..." Dawson let out a pathetic sigh and fell back into the couch.  
"You haven't alienated all you're friends." Pacey mumbled as he flopped down in the chair across from Dawson. "I'm here, aren't I?"   
"I guess." Dawson said bleakly.  
"Hey!" Pacey snarled, slightly offended.  
"Sorry." Dawson sat up and focused on his friend. "Of course you're here. Where else would you be?"  
Leaning forward, sounding more irritated with every word, Pacey replied. "Well, for starters, I could be with my girlfriend, who seems to treat me a lot better than my best friend these days."  
"No, that's not what I meant." Dawson smiled warily, realizing he was going to end up alone if he couldnt explain himself promptly. "I mean, you're a great friend. You'd stick by me through just about anything."  
Pacey thought for a moment. "Oh, in that case, apology accepted." He leaned back in the chair. "Youre right, you know." Pacey nodded. "Unless you try to steal my girl or something..., I'm right there with you, man."  
The two boys shook their heads and laughed.

______________________________

"Joey!" Bessie yelled from the other room. "Get the phone!"  
"Hello?" Joey answered.  
"Joey?" A familiar voice asked.  
"Yes, Jack, is that you?" Joey questioned.  
"It's me. What are you doing?" Jack said half-heartedly.  
"We'll, it's almost midnight, I was going to try and get some sleep before work tomorrow." She joked. "Is something wrong?"  
"Um, no, not really." Jack waited a few seconds then blurted into the phone. "You don't hate me, do you?"  
"What?" Joey said, dumbfounded.  
"I mean, we talked about it and everything, but still, I was thinking, and if I were you, I would totally hate me right now..."  
Joey cut him off. "Are you talking about what happened between you and Abby the other night?"  
"Well, yea." Jack replied sullenly.  
"Look Jack. I have to admit, when I saw the two of you kissing, I freaked." Joey could hear Jack breathe a deep sigh. "But I understand."  
"You do?" Jack asked.   
"Well, not really, but I understand that you're going through this life changing thing right now, and I couldn't even try to pretend to know what you must be feeling." Joey fumbled with her words. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't take what happened the other night personally."  
"I'm glad." Jacks said quickly. "Because you're probably the best friend I have, and if I ever did any thing to jeopardize that..."   
"Probably?" Joey joked.  
They both smiled.  
"Of course you didn't." Joey assured Jack. "Now go to sleep and stop worrying about everything, ok?"   
"All right... I'll see you at work tomorrow." Jack said, finally relieved.  
"Goodnight Jack."  
"Goodnight Joey, thanks."

______________________________

Saturday morning came with little sleep for Pacey, who had stayed up much too late with his best pal watching horror movies and pondering the pathetic state of there adolescent lives.   
Pacey left Dawson sound asleep and headed to the IceHouse where he had planned to meet Andie.  
"Did you just wake up?" Andie asked as Pacey strolled up to her dockside table and sat down.  
"Yea." Pacey groaned. "Isn't it a little too early for lunch?"  
"I never thought I would see the day when Pacey Witter turned down a meal!" Andy said sarcastically. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Joey before Jack left for work."  
"Where is she?" Pacey looked around and then reached out for Andies arm to get a glimpse at her watch. "I thought the IceHouse didn't open until eleven."  
"If you hadn't noticed..." Andie pulled her arm away and glared at Pacey. "It's almost eleven now."  
"Oh... then where's Joey?" Pacey asked, somewhat taken back by his girlfriend's snappy tone.  
Andie stood up and walked inside the small cafe. Pacey stumbled behind her, trying to explain why he was late.  
"It's just that Dawson's in this funk and..." He said to the back of Andie's head.  
"I know, I know. That's why we're here." Andie clarified.   
"Oh." Pacey said softly.   
"Joey!" Andie shouted from beyond the counter.  
Joey sauntered in from the kitchen, her long brown hair framing the irritated expression on her face. She was carrying a gallon of tarter sauce and plopped it down on the counter. "Can you open that?" She asked, looking at Pacey.  
"Of course I can." Pacey broadened his shoulders and held his chin up high as he wrapped his fingers around the jar. The seal popped after several seconds of twisting and Pacey smiled with confidence.  
"Manly, huh?" Pacey pointed out.  
Both girls laughed. Pacey couldn't find anything amusing in what he had.  
"So what are we doing here, besides favors for non-appreciative people?" Pacey asked in a sardonic tone.   
"Well..." Andie explained. "I was thinking..."  
"Uh oh!" Pacey gulped, cutting her off quickly.  
Andie gave Pacey an icy stare and continued. "Like I was saying, I was thinking, it would be fun if we all got together tonight." Andie watched Pacey and Joey as they waited for something more. "It's just that Jack has hardly been out of the house lately." Andie turned, glancing over her shoulder, making sure Jack hadn't walked in. "Beyond school and work, he's turned into a hermit... And if what Pacey told me about Dawson is true, he's no better off."  
"I don't know..." Pacey said apprehensively.   
"I think it's a great idea." Joey jumped in. "With all that's happened over the past couple of weeks, I think we would all feel better if we could get out and have some fun.  
"Wow, Potter, who'd a thought, there's a little bit of an optimist in there after all." Pacey stated.  
J oey growled silently, then focused back on Andie. "So what's the plan?"  


______________________________

"So Dawson, what exactly are we going to again? Jen asked as she walked around the picket fence that separated she and Dawson's house.  
"It's the annual Capeside Cultural Festival." Dawson opened his mother's car door for Jen and waited for her to step inside. "It's kind of a pre-cursor for the Art's Festival next week."  
"This town sure does have a lot of community sponsored activities!" Jen stated.  
Dawson laughed, walked around to the other side of the car and got in. "That's what you get for living in a town where tourism is the primary source of income." Dawson started the car. "If we didn't cater to the sometimes annoying and always obnoxious tourists, Capeside would go under."  
"You're much too young to be so cynical, Dawson." Jen said smiling. Dawson looked over at her with a smirk. "Jen Lindley, you're probably the most cynical person I know."  
"Yeah, well, you'd be cynical too if you're hypocritical boyfriend just dumped you after learning about past indiscretions and you were stuck living with your grandmother because you're parents didn't want you around, seeing as though you remind them of their own past improprieties..." She blurted out in one, very long, breathe.  
"Ok..." Dawson looked at Jen, a little put back by her sudden outburst. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"No." Jen stated bluntly. "...But now that I think about it, maybe a night out with my friends is just what I need... drive on Jeeves." She said, breaking a smile.

______________________________

The six met up downtown in the middle of the excitement.  
"I have never seen so much food in my life!" Jack said amazed.  
"It's great, isn't it?" Pacey admitted.  
"You would get excited over an all you can eat buffet!" Joey snapped.  
"All you can eat?" Pacey asked sarcastically. "Where?"  
The others chuckled among themselves at Joey and Pacey's banter as they walked along the rows of colorful booths. The air grew colder as the sun began to fade away into the distance  
"Anybody want a cappuccino?" Jack asked, motioning down the street to another booth.  
"Sounds good to me!" Jen replied. Jen took Jacks arm and lead him down the street.  
The others walked on in the opposite direction and soon stopped behind a long line in front of a booth adorned with red lanterns and gold dragons.  
"I love Chinese food!" Andie said looking a Pacey.  
After several seconds Pacey finally caught on. "Oh, you want some?  
"Wow, look at the line!" Joey commented.  
"It better be good, seeing that we're going to have to stand in line for half an hour!" Pacey stated.  
"If you don't want to stand in line with me, that's fine, you can go off with Jack and Jen..." Andie began.  
"Hey, hey!" Pacey rapped his arms around Andie and nudged the back of her neck with his cold nose. "I could think of nothing better." He said softly.  
Andie smiled and allowed Pacey to kiss her.  
Dawson and Joey stood, feeling a bit out of place, while their friends affectionately cuddled ahead of them in line.

Jack and Jen slowly walked back up the street in the direction of their friends.  
"I'm sorry to hear about Ty..." Jack started.  
"He was a jerk!" Jen blurted out.  
"Oh." Jack said.  
"We'll, he wasn't a jerk in the beginning. He was actually kinda sweet. But that's what happens, isn't it. People get close, then poof, they're gone, cause they can't handle all the emotional stuff that comes with a relationship, but I'm one to talk..." Jen expounded quickly.  
"I guess." Jack didn't exactly know what to say.  
"I'm sorry, I've been doing that a lot lately." Jen smiled and folded her arm inside Jacks. "I have a tendency to go off on an occasional tangent when I'm irritated or upset, you'll just have to ignore me."  
"I understand, sometimes you just have to let it all out. My problem is finding someone to let it out to." Jack chuckled.  
"As you can tell, I don't have that problem." They both laughed as they walked up behind their friends.

As the others ordered, the girl behind the counter caught Dawson's eye. She was beautiful. Dressed in a red silk kimono, with her hair swept up, away from her face, she seemed so delicate to him. She smiled softly as she helped his friends and then focused her attention on Dawson.  
"Can I help you?" She asked gently.  
Dawson just looked into her deep brown eyes and stared for a moment.  
"Dawson?" Pacey said, elbowing his lust-struck bud in the ribs. "She wants to know what you want?"  
"She wants to what?" He said, as he fell back to reality.   
Dawson blushed deeply, ordered, and followed the others off the street to a picnic area.

Dawson sat on the end of the bench across from Pacey.   
"So?" Pacey jabbed. "You should go talk to her."   
Dawson's face darkened as he looked at Pacey with a piercing stare.   
Whispering, Pacey continued. "I saw the way you were looking at her, you should go introduce yourself."  
Dawson looked around as the table suddenly turned silent. He noticed Joey sullenly mixing her food in it's white foam container. After may years of experience, he knew Joey only stirred her food like that when she was nervous or angry.  
Joey suddenly looked up from her plate and commented. "Yea, Dawson, you should go talk to her." She said aggressively.  
"Let's just change the subject, ok?" Dawson said as he felt the tension rise around him. "Shes probably not even from around here."   
"No, really, why shouldn't you go exchange names, who knows, maybe she's the future Mrs. Dawson Leerey." Joey said distastefully as she pushed her plate away slowly.  
Joey's statement burned in Dawson's ears.  
Without another word, Dawson stood up and left the others sitting in silence. Realizing how out of line she was, Joey ran after, catching up with him seconds later in the street.  
"Dawson!" Joey called from behind.  
He turned to look at his somber friend, standing silent.  
"What was that all about?" Dawson shouted.  
"All of what?" Joey asked, as she looked around, embarrassed.  
"That, the attitude." Dawson ran his fingers through his hair and looked over at his friends, who were standing in disbelief on the side of the busy street.  
"Dawson, I don't know what...." She grumbled.  
"Oh, and I guess you don't come un-glued every time another girl takes a second look at me, or I her?" Dawson interrupted feverishly. "You're the one that didn't want a relationship with me, Joey."  
"I know! You throw it up in my face every chance you get." Joey said, almost in tears.  
"Then why don't you just get over it then!" He shouted.   
Joey looked around while people watched as she and her longtime best friend fought in the middle of the crowded festival street. She gathered her composure, wiped a solitary tear from her cheek and walked away from Dawson, into a crowd of strangers.

After standing in the street for a moment, mulling over what had just occurred, Dawson walked across to the others.  
"Don't you think you were a little hard on her?" Jen asked, pointing out the obvious.  
Knowing that he had went too far, exasperated, Dawson asked. "Pace, do you think you could give Jen a ride home?"  
"Go after her man!" Pacey uttered, motioning toward the street.  


______________________________

Dawson drove to Joey's slowly, not exactly sure what he could say to make things better. A lot had been said between he and Joey over the past few months, most of which he wished he could take back.   
He noticed lights on in Joey's house as he approached from the street. She could have easily beaten him home, he thought, after procrastinating as long as he had on the way over.  
As he walked up to the front steps an un-easy sensation came over him. He glanced up to see the front door slightly open. The door frame was splintered and shards of glass littered the welcome matt in front of the entrance.  
"What the?" Dawson said under his breath.  
  
Inside, Joey sat shaking on the floor, clutching an old baseball bat that belonged to her father.

Only minutes before, Joey had began getting ready for bed after a long, upsetting day. She was sitting, brushing her hair, still fuming over what had been said earlier that evening.  
"What is he talking about, anyway!" She said, looking into the mirror.   
Just as Joey finally began to get a grip on her emotions she heard an unfamiliar noise from the front yard. Bessie was due home anytime, so Joey didnt think much about it.   
But then, seconds later, Joey heard a loud thud, then, the sound of glass breaking. She jumped from her vanity and walked out into the hall. Anxiously listening for her sister to come in.   
"Bessie?" She whimpered.   
Another loud crash came as she heard the door slam. Joey ran as fast as she could back into her room. Afraid the lock on her bedroom door wasn't enough, she quickly pushed her dresser up against the door. Slowly, she backed against the wall and lowered herself to the ground. Looking at the door with a cautious eye, she reached for the bat she kept under her bed.

Outside, Dawson looked around but didn't hear anything. "Joey?" Dawson said quietly. "Joey?" He called out, this time much louder.  
He slowly stepped up to the door and listened for a response.  
Just as Dawson began to push the front door open, a dark figure came rushing out, violently knocking Dawson to the ground.   
Dawson lay shaken, looking up at the open door.

Joey could hear Dawson when he called her name the second time. She pushed the dresser away from the door and listened. A violent thud, then a loud crash gave Joey a sick feeling. She took a deep breath and left her room.

  
"Dawson?" Joey cried out as she bounded out of the door with her baseball bat in hand. "Oh my..." She exclaimed, as she noticed blood underneath Dawson's head. "Are you alright?" She asked, terrified. Feeling the panic begin to overwhelm her, she took a deep breath, exhaled, then bent down over her best friend.  
"What happened...?" Dawson's words trailed off as he started to sit up.   
Joey stopped him. "Lay still!" She said. "I'm going to call an ambulance.  
Dawson lay still as Joey called for the ambulance and then Dawson's parents.

______________________________

"Wow, Dawson, you could have been killed yesterday!" Pacey said as he crashed into Dawson's bed.  
Dawson flinched from the jolt.  
"Sorry, you all right?" Pacey relaxed and made an effort not to move so much as he sat next to Dawson, in bed.  
"I'm fine, it just hurts a little sometimes." Dawson replied. "Do the police have any leads on...?"  
Pacey interrupted. "No, but I know for a fact that it's my dad's number one priority." Pacey laughed earnestly. "Not that that means too much, I mean, there's not an awful lot of criminal activity going on around here to begin with, you know..."  
"Well, last night's about all the criminal activity I can handle." Dawson tried to laugh but let out a deep sigh instead.  
"Tell me about it." Pacey agreed.  
"I'm just glad Joey wasn't hurt." Dawson said, thankful.  
"Dougie said that it looked like you scared the guy off before he was able to do much." Pacey explained. "It's a good thing you decided to go after Joey the way you did."  
"Yea." Dawson said coolly.  
"I better let you get some rest." Pacey eased off the bed and walked to Dawson's bedroom door. "And promise me something, huh... the next time you wanna go play Dick Tracey, let me know, and I'll give you some back up, ok?"  
Pacey left Dawson staring up at his ceiling wearily.

When Dawson woke that evening, he gradually sat up, put his robe on, and walked out into the hall. He could hear voices downstairs, but was still too groggy to quit make out whose they were. Slowly, he made his way down stairs and into the kitchen.  
Standing by the counter were Bessie, holding Alexander, Joey and his mom.   
"Dawson, what are you doing out of bed?" Gale asked abruptly.  
"What?" Dawson asked, groggy from the pain killers the doctor had prescribed at the hospital. "Is everything all right?"  
"Everything will be a lot better when you get yourself back into bed young man!" Gale ordered tenderly.  
"Dawson, I just want to thank you for what you did." Bessie blurted out in appreciation. "If it weren't for you, Joey could have been..." She couldn't finish her sentence.  
"I really didn't do anything." Dawson explained.  
"Honey, you should really be in bed." Gale smiled and raised her brow, waiting for her son to comply.  
"Let me, Mrs. Leerey." Joey walked over and led Dawson back through the living room and up the stairs.  
"So, what's going on?" Dawson asked as Joey walked behind him into his room.  
"Nothing really, Dawson." Joey explained. "Your dad came over this morning and fixed our door. He even added another deadbolt, just in case. Bessie baked you guys a pie in appreciation. She said it was the least she could do for saving her kid sister last night."  
Dawson sat back down on his bed. "Do they think he'll come back?"  
"No, I don't suppose." Joey smiled.   
"Oh, good." Dawson rubbed the bandage on the back of his head lightly and flinched.   
"Do you need something Dawson?" Joey put a concerned hand over Dawsons.  
"No, it just stings a little." He answered.  
The two sat on the bed for several moments in uncomfortable silence.  
"Joey." Dawson finally said. "I'm so sorry about last night."  
"It wasn't your fault, Dawson, it could have just as well happened to the people up the street..." Joey explained.  
"No, I mean about what I said last night. Actually, the way I made you feel." Dawson went on, searching for the words to make every thing better. "I don't know what I was thinking, I was being juvenile and I'm sorry."  
"Dawson, it was just as much my fault. We both said some stupid things..." Joey looked over at the window. "It's just that I've spent so many years climbing in and out of your window, I sometimes forget where you end and I begin." She looked back at Dawson. "When I heard Pacey going on about that girl last night, I guess I got a little jealous."  
"But I should have never gone off on you the way I did!" Dawson countered.  
"Let's just forget about it. It was petty and just proves that were not as mature as we think we are." Joey walked over to the bedroom door. "Five years from now, all we'll remember is that you saved me from some psycho and in the process ended up with stitches and a concussion." Joey's face lit up. "When it comes down to it, Dawson, all this other stuff just doesn't matter."  
"What your trying to say then is..._this too shall pass_?..." Dawson asked quietly.  
"I don't know, Dawson, you tell me..." Joey smiled as she started to walk out of the room. "_You're the eternal optimist_!" 


End file.
